JOHN
HICKS - Dorset's forgotten architect
by
Robin
Adeney
Nationally,
the 19th century was a period of frantic church building or
‘improvement’ and hardly a church in
Dorset
survived unaltered. From our
vantage point in the 21st century, it is easy to condemn the
Victorians for apparently vandalising old buildings, but in many cases they were
left with no alternative, because the previous generation had so neglected their
buildings that many were in a ruinous condition and at a real risk of falling
down. All this activity did not go
unnoticed by the Rev. James Hicks, who had gone to Piddletrenthide as a curate
in 1837 (and vicar 1845-85), and thought there might be an opportunity for his younger brother John,
then an architect in
Bristol
. Of all the architects that worked
in the County, Hicks was by far the most popular, because by the end of his life
he had either built or restored at least 27 churches, mostly in the Gothic
style, yet very little is known about him. However,
we do know he was the son of a schoolmaster parson and was born in 1815 in
Totnes. He was probably educated
there before his father left in 1834 to take the living at Rangeworthy, north of
Bristol
. Although we do not know where he
received his architectural training, by 1838 he had certainly set up a practice
in
Bristol
and between then and 1848 was responsible, among other things, for building two
churches and restoring a third. Later
on, he was fond of telling the story of a dream he had during this time, which
concerned a tower he had designed and was, at the time, being built. During the
dream a large crack appeared. When he awoke he was so concerned that he
immediately saddled his horse and rode out to inspect the structure, only to
find the crack exactly as he had seen it!
In
1850, he married Amelia Coley of Rangeworthy and probably came to
Dorchester
to establish his home and office at 39, South Street, some time before 1852. His first
two commissions were for vicarages in
Dorchester
and Lyme Regis, followed by the school and schoolmaster’s house at Long Bredy.
His first church alteration in
Dorset
was at Piddletrentide, in 1854 where he raised the walls.
However, it was the creation of a nave and side aisle at Rampisham in
1859 that marks the serious start of his church building career.
Perhaps
unfairly, he is often better remembered for his association with the author
Thomas Hardy, who was articled to him from 1856 to '62 and, after gaining
further experience with A.W.Blomfield in
London
, became his assistant from '67 until his death in 1869. As a result of this
connection, Hardy's many biographers have bequeathed various sketchy
descriptions of John Hicks, but most agree he was "an amiable, straight
dealing man" and, being a classical scholar, exceptionally well educated
for a provincial architect.
We
know that Hardy and the other apprentice, Bastow, must have irritated his wife
because there is a reference to Mrs. Hicks ‘sending down’ to ask them, to
"make less noise!" Towards the end of his life he was severely
afflicted by gout, which was why he was obliged to offer Thomas Hardy the
position of assistant and probably the reason he was not present at the
consecration ceremony of the little church at
East Holme
. He was a leading figure in
Dorchester
and was the People’s Churchwarden at St. Peter’s.
Yet when he died his entry in the Deaths column of the ‘Dorset County
Chronicle’ amounted to just ‘February 12th at
Dorchester
, in his 54th year, Mr John Hicks, Architect’ and there was no
proper or fitting obituary. It was
as if an impenetrable curtain had been deliberately pulled down over his life.
This lack of formal appreciation may have played on Hardy’s conscience
because, as Joan Brocklebank in her excellent ‘Victorian Stone Carvers in
Dorset’ points out, the poem (1911) called 'The Abbey Mason' is
headed ‘With memories of
John Hicks’. Three couplets are particularly relevant:
He
passed into oblivion dim
And
none knew what became of him!
His
name? T’was of some common kind
And
now had faded out of mind.
The
Abbot: ‘It shall not be hid,
I’ll
trace it’….But he never did.
John
Hicks built or restored the following churches in
Dorset
:
Batcombe
(1864); Beaminster (1863); Bettiscombe (1862);
St Mary Bridport (1860): St
Martin Broadmayne (1865); Combe Keynes (1861); St
Peter Dorchester (vestry & window); East Holme (1864);
East Lulworth (1864);
Hinton Martell (1870 finished by Crickmay); Long Bredy (1863);
North Poorton
(1862); Okeford Fitzpaine (1866); Piddletrenthide (1852);
Powerstock (1854-9);
Rampisham (1859); Shipton Gorge (1862); Stinsford (1868);
Stour Row (1867); St
Mark Swanage (1869-70 finished by Crickmay); Turnworth (1869); Holy Trinity
West
Lulworth (1869-70); Holy Rood Wool (1864-6); West
Compton (1867)
If
anyone has further information about John Hicks or other members of his family
(he had no children), I would be very
grateful to hear from them:
Crosskeys House
High Street
Broadwindsor
Beaminster
Dorset DT8 3QP
Tel: 01308 868063 or E-mail: robin.adeney@care4free.net